The Gunners beat Everton 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, when Olivier Giroud came off the bench to net a second-half double. It was a fourth home draw of the competition for Arsenal but their third against Premier League opposition, as they kept alive a shot at a first trophy since 2005.

Arsenal boss Wenger said: ‘People have questioned our desire to do well in the FA Cup many times but we are in the semi-final now and from our performance on Saturday, you can see we really want it.

‘Since the start of this competition it is true we had a good draw in the fact that we played all the games at home, which is the first time [that this has happened] since I played in the FA Cup.

‘But, on the other hand, we played difficult opponents – Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton – and that shows you we have taken this competition seriously.’

Arsenal took an early lead through Mesut Ozil but were pegged back before half-time when Romelu Lukaku tapped in. The hosts got themselves back in command when Mikel Arteta scored from a penalty before Giroud added a late double as the game opened up.

Wenger believes the manner of the victory can lift his side for what looks a ‘mission impossible’ when they will be out to overturn a 2-0 deficit at Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

He added: ‘The win over Everton was the perfect platform to go into a game where the statistics go against you, but let’s be inspired by our FA Cup performance and go to Bayern and try to repeat it. I am convinced we’ll have a real go.’